Nenshi blasts Smith over health care, Shapiro and more
By Lethbridge Herald on April 1, 2025.
Naheed Nenshi speaks with locals about their concerns during his trip through southern Alberta on Tuesday.
Herald photo by Alexandra NoadAlexandra Noad – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Southern Albertans are deeply concerned about proposed coal mining in the Grassy Mountain area, Alberta Health Services cutting back on food for patients and how tariffs are going to impact Albertans, especially farmers and small business owners, says the leader of Alberta’s NDP.
During a visit to Lethbridge Tuesday, Naheed Nenshi said he has talked to many people in the agriculture sector and most people believe when it comes to coal mining on the eastern slopes, the negative far outweighs the positive.
“No one can understand what the political benefit to this government is,” he said. “It’s clearly something Albertan’s don’t want, it’s clearly something that has very little economic benefit for a lot of environmental risk.”
Meanwhile, a memo sent out by AHS last week saying that it would be cutting back on giving patients’ snacks, is another example of the “incompetence” of Danielle Smith’s government, especially when it comes to AHS.
“It’s just another example of two things,” said Nenshi. “Number one, their overall incompetence – how they have so much trouble running a system – but number two, how they make outrageous claims then walk them back marginally, while the root policy is still there.”
In a media statement Tuesday, acting AHS CEO Andre Tremblay said that the proposed policy was misinterpreted and “not meant to deprive patients of food.” He said AHS is “looking into reports that food and drink may not have been available to patients.” The statement goes on to say proposed changes were aimed at limiting food waste and ensuring available food went to the patients who require it.
The province announced recently that $17 million would be going toward urgent care facilities, with one in Airdrie to be run by One Health, a private company. Lethbridge is also in line for a new urgent care facility, and while the province says Airdrie is the only clinic that will be privately run, Nenshi said the province doesn’t actually have a plan in place.
“The province did suggest that all of these urgent care centres, except for the one in Airdrie, would be publicly run, they originally said by AHS, and then they said by somebody through a competitive process – they’re making it up as they go along.”
However, a statement made available to media by Alberta Health counters Nenshi’s assertion, saying the operating model, approved last fall, will see One Health Airdrie as the primary care operator, while urgent care services will be publicly funded and operated by a provider selected through a competitive process.
Nenshi also shared his frustration about the amount of infrastructure the province has announced while not providing funding for said projects.
“For example, the province has announced a cardiac science facility to help people who have heart attacks at the Chinook Regional Hospital so many times and hasn’t actually funded it,” he pointed out. “Similarly, they’ve announced a bunch of schools and they funded the construction of none of them.”
With the threat of tariffs looming over the province, Nenshi said Premier Danielle Smith’s strategy of “using her charm” isn’t working, and adds that she doesn’t have a backup plan.
“(Smith is) sucking up to extremists in the US, assuming that they’re going to be charmed by her, and it will cause President Trump to drop his entire economic policy,” he says. “She has no backup plan. In fact, today we learned that her backup plan is to team up with the province of Quebec and be separatists together.”
In a 20-minute fireside chat with Ben Shapiro at a fundraiser for PragerU last week, Smith said she convinced the right-wing influencer to talk about tariffs. However, Shapiro has been talking about tariffs for months, and while he says tariffs are a bad idea, he also believes Canada should be annexed and should become the 51st state.
Nenshi believes Smith should not take Canada’s sovereignty lightly and believe that talk about the “51st state” is just a joke.
“She needs to stop making light of Canada’s sovereignty…and she needs to stand up and fight for Canada, something we haven’t seen from her yet.”
With the cost of living rising at an alarming rate, Nenshi voiced his concerns about the lack of measures put in place for the cost of housing, utility rates and auto insurance in Alberta, which are among the highest in the country.
“We can do a lot about auto insurance rates, we can do a lot about utility rates and we can do a lot about housing, and this government really has shown no instinct in doing any of them.”
Unlike Smith, who recently asked the U.S. to pause tariffs so they can “get through an election,” Nenshi said he plans to stay out of federal politics, as he trusts Albertans to make their own choices for representation.
“I will continue to push all the parties on what is right for Alberta,” he said, “but I’m not endorsing anybody, I’m not getting involved in anything.”
22-21
Mr. Nenshi, welcome to Lethbridge (not)! You did such a great job as Mayor of Calgary, and the city is still reeling from your incompetence!
The Province sure was headed in the right direction under Premier Notely right? WRONG!!! We incurred debt substantial as never before and suffered economic loss in every sector (except perhaps, government employee hiring).
Mr. Nenshi, if you looked past your nose, and perhaps drove down highway 3 to Taber, you would see Alberta Infrastructure first hand as the twinning of highway 3 from Taber east is proceeding full speed ahead. You might also see the shelter expansion as well as housing for homeless, well underway. You may want to review the statistics regarding overdose deaths drastically reduced since the CLOSING of Lethbridge’s “Supervised Consumption” Site” the brainchild of former NDP MLA Shannon Phillips (with endorsement by Then Mayor Chris Spearman). I daren’t go on but hopefully you get the point, for now, “no thank you” for your poor attempt of speaking your ill gotten propaganda.
Another series of downvotes from the cult, eh, Harold, watch this explode.
https://www.danielgreenfield.org/2025/04/the-fake-left.html
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/alberta/alberta-health-services-halts-plan-to-reduce-patient-food-drinks-after-pushback/article_8e76a886-836f-5bf9-8287-02b612d4067b.html
Poor Danielle and her UCP are incompetents
Who reads the red star besides you. Hardly credible.
Wow has the Zionist lobby ever gotten into your head.
Like most people here (from countless different backgrounds and viewpoints)sometimes I agree, sometimes I don’t.
I recognize the fake left (Lethbridge has more than enough of them)but there is the extreme on the right, as well. Those of P.P.’s base he is trying to distance himself from now,at least until the campaign is over.
Wholeheartedly agree! Here’s more on the bumbling UCP shameless buffoonery. How much more will it take for the UCP to trip themselves up? This UCP backpedaling described below is wow, just wow…..
“Publicly shamed, Alberta drops plan to deny free popsicles, juice boxes and water to kids recovering from cancer treatments. Interim CEO and president blames AHS, says ‘proposed policy’ due to be implemented yesterday was marred by ‘misinterpretation’…..
http://www.albertapolitics.ca
All the negative Nellie’s showing up here.
Nenshi all you do is attack others and have no good ideas resolve issues. Your NDP party destroyed our downtown business community with your harm reduction safe drug consumption site policies and my business has never recovered those losses.
Our Premier is reaching out to the American people to let them know that we are not the leeches of the US Trump is portraying us to be! Diplomacy is something you have no knowledge of and by the way, you don’t even have a seat in the Legislature, and you can’t run in Calgary because they don’t like you and remember you as Mayor. You openly supported the Liberal candidate in Calgary when they ran before and now you are an NDP, so you seem to have an allegiance issue, or is it just that you don’t care which party will take you, because you are just after the paycheck and penion?
But on the other hand, the NDP is a Liberal collaborator in the federal government, which is why Singh has lost so much support!
You judge our Premier for trying to gain US support for our province, but fail to see that the US is our biggest trade partner and largest source of revenue, with over $140 billion in exports to the US!
Healthcare shortages are a North America issue to stop trying to blame the UCP for them!
Lethbridge was sued by Shannon Phillips and I would guess the settlement was around $4 million or will be, and who is paying that? I am tired of the NDP stealing our tax dollars! That drug consumption site cost us about $28 million and increased fatal overdoses, and with the loss of life destroyed many families in this area so find some other place to spew your political garbage at!
cutting back on those snacks is sure to save us hundreds, maybe even as much as two or three thousand dollars. but, add to that enormous amount the savings that could come from the fallout of sugar consumption and obesity and the like. what a smart upc govt we gots, looking out for the tax payer all the way down to putting the screws to sick children.
Actually that order came from AHS which is constantly trying to make the government look bad. Note how fast it was rectified. If I were conspiracy theorists I would say that AHS is full of NDP plants.
rectified?! come on. if you actually heard smith’s remark you would have to agree it was so couched it had stale bits of doritos attached to it.